In the field of packaging it is often required to provide consumers with a package comprising a plurality of primary product containers such as cans, bottles and the like, grouped together in a carton. Such packages are desirable for shipping and distribution, for customer use, and for the display of promotional information. For cost and environmental considerations, the cartons or carriers used in such packages need to be formed from as little material as possible and cause as little wastage in the materials from which they are formed as possible. Another consideration is the strength of the package and its suitability for holding and transporting large weights of articles.
It is desirable to provide a packaging machine to automatically package a plurality of primary product containers in a carton; it also desirable that the packaging machine makes efficient use of space within a conversion plant or other premises. It also desirable for the packaging machine to be readily adapted to package the primary product containers into a plurality of different cartons, wherein the number of primary product containers, and their respective arrangement, is dependent upon the configuration of the desired carton or carrier.